Transcript
ESCI 101 Exam 4 Study Guide
The Exam on Monday, Dec. 11th at 12:30 pm (AK 125) will be worth 100 points. The final exam will be the same length as prior exams. Part of the exam will include slides showing certain features that I will ask you to identify.
Chapter 16: Groundwater
How much of Earth’s water supply is groundwater? 0.6%
Know the following terms: porosity (measure of the percent of pores/open space in rock) permeability (ability of fluids to flow through interconnected pores), water table (depth below ground where rock is saturated with water), spring (occur where water table intersects a surface), unsaturated zone (zone above the water table, where pores are not filled with water), saturated zone (area below water table, where pores are filled with water), aquifer (body of rock or sediment with a good porosity and permeability from which we extract water) (unconfined (water table is not confined by an upper limit), confined (water confined to a zone, bounded by confining layers-water usually under pressure), perched aquifers (water pools on top of a localized confining bed)), confining bed (beds of low permeability that do not allow the flow of ground water- usually made of clay or shale)
What are good vs. poor aquifer materials, what type of aquifer does Vermillion have, and what makes good confining beds? ?? Why does the water table level change over time (natural and human causes)? (water table can rise in wet season or decline in dry season) What is recharge? (zones where water percolates through material to add water to groundwater supply) Why does land subsidence occur? ??
Know how the movement of groundwater is related to potential energy and pressure; in general, how does groundwater move in the subsurface? How does groundwater movement contribute to hot springs and geysers? What is Darcy’s Law? What are artesian wells? What is the potentiometric surface? What is a cone of depression? ??
What are some potential sources of groundwater pollution? ?? What is hard vs. soft water? (hard has high concentration of calcium and magnesium, clogs pipes from buildup, soap lathers less….. soft has low concentrations of dissolved solids, can corrode pipes adding medals to drinking water) is a saline intrusion and where do these form? ??
How do caves, sinkholes, and karst topography form? (Karst form at surface, collapse of caverns create sinkholes, and acidic groundwater dissolves limestones and marble creating caves)
Know stalactite, stalagmite, tower karst. (look at packet, too long to type)
Chapter 12: Energy & Mineral Resources
What are the top sources of electricity in the US; South Dakota? (coal for us- wind for SoDak) Which energy source dominates the transportation sector? (Oil) What are the trends in coal vs. natural gas use in the US? (coal use is 30% and is cheap/plentiful, gas used is 34%) What are fossil fuels? (fuels that have stored energy from photosynthesis over geological time) How does oil and natural gas form? (from dead algae and plankton) Know the oil window; source rock, reservoir rock. ??
How does oil migrate through rock? (from source) What is a trap? (geological configuration that holds oil and gas) What happens at a refinery? (breaks down hydrocarbons)
What are the environmental impacts of oil and gas?p t here are most hydrocarbon reserves located? What is natural gas? What is hydraulic fracturing? What are some environmental consequences?
What are tar sands?
Where and how does coal form? Be familiar with coal rank and what it means: peat-lignite bituminous-anthracite. What are some environmental impacts of coal mining and use? What is “clean coal”?
Nuclear power: what is fission? What is the source of uranium? What are some of the issues related to nuclear power?
What is an ore? What is smelting? Why are there open pit vs. underground mines? Be familiar with ore forming processes: magmatic deposits, hydrothermal deposits (porphyry copper). What is placer? What are some impacts of mining?
Chapter 18: Glaciers
What is a glacier? Know the difference between mountain glaciers vs. continental glaciers and where/why they form. How does ice form? What happens when ice flows or fractures? Know how the balance between accumulation vs. ablation controls glacier growth or retreat. What is the difference between an ice shelf, ice berg, and sea ice? How is sea ice changing?
How do glaciers erode and what are the products of erosion? What are the products of deposition by glaciers? Know these terms: striations, plucking, till, outwash, erratic. How are moraines formed? Know how mountain glacier features form: U-shaped valley, fjord, hanging valley, arête, horn, cirque. Know how these other glacier features form: eskers, drumlins, kettles and large lakes
Know about the last Ice Age and vegetation, river patterns and direction, pluvial lakes, and oxygen isotopes changed. How much did sea level change? What are contributors to creating ice ages on Earth (know specifically about the three orbital cycles). What ultimately causes glaciers to shrink or grow? How are glaciers responding to climate change?
Chapter 19: Global Change (sections 19.3 to 19.6)
Know climate vs. weather
What are the reservoirs of the carbon cycle?
Climate change in Earth’s history: ice house vs. greenhouse; climate archives (cave deposits, tree rings, ice cores, and others); which archives provide annual climate records?
Know how these natural processes impact the Earth’s climate and over what time frame: Natural/long-term processes: Greenhouse effect (how does it work? what are the greenhouse gases); Plate tectonics: continental drift, sea floor spreading rates, mountain uplift; Life and photosynthesis, formation of coal and oil;
Natural/short-term processes: Orbital cycles: tilt, precession, eccentricity; Solar variability, volcanic eruptions, albedo, ocean currents.
What would the result of natural climate change be on the Earth right now?
How do humans contribute to greenhouse gas emissions? What is the current level of CO2 in the atmosphere? How does this compare to the last 800,000 years?
What are climate models and what do they predict for the future?
What is geoengineering, carbon capture and storage?
Climate change effects that have occurred already: rise in temperature (atmosphere and ocean), melting glaciers and sea ice, rise in sea level, effects on aquifers and agriculture
